(AP) - Veteran cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell is receiving a top award from the Nevada Arts Council.
Mitchell is the winner of the 2012 Nevada Heritage Award, which honors Nevada folk and traditional artists who embody the highest level of artistic achievement in their work.
The Spring Creek man was nominated by the Western Folklife Center in Elko, which notes he has become "an icon of Nevada, of buckaroo culture and of cowboy poetry itself."
The council says the award presentation likely will occur in January during the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, where he has been a popular entertainer.
The award carries a fellowship grant of $3,500 for Mitchell.
The council is a division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs.
